The present invention relates to a clock such as a hanging clock, or the like, and particularly relates to a thin clock.
A clock is well known which is provided with an install plate used also as a back frame, a movement capsule fixedly attached on a back surface of the install plate, a dial disposed in front of the install plate, a transparent front cover fixedly attached to the install plate in front of the dial, and hands disposed between the front cover and the dial and driven by a timepiece movement. A setting shaft for correcting time is disposed on the back side of the install plate.
Recently, a clock has been much desired to be light, thin and small, so that it has been an extremely important technical problem to make the clock thin. Under such circumstances, the distance between the dial and the front cover is made extremely narrow, and, further, the front cover, the dial, the install plate, and even the hands per se have been formed extremely thin to the extent that the strength of the clock is not detrimentally affected.
As the result, the install plate and the front cover have come to be easily deformed due to temperature changes, due to pressure applied in turning the hands, and so on, so as to generate a phenomenon that the front cover touches the hands, especially, a minute hand, so that the minute hand becomes dislodged from a minute hand shaft to thereby stop or, the front cover is rubbed and becomes damaged by the minute hand, or, in the worst case, the clock stops completely.